Dreaming 101
General Information The Dreaming is the landscape of the collective unconscious where wishes, fears, desires and pathos create the landscape and embody its citizens. Every living being adds to its fabric as they sleep. This includes kithain, werewolves, metahumans, mortals and vampires who dream. Umbrood, chimera, denizens, ghosts and other completely ethereal beings do not dream. Before the Shattering, Dreaming had cohesion despite its malleable nature. Then the Shattering fractured it into almost limitless minor Mythic realms that chaotically flow across the face of the spirit realms. This is one of the primary causes of the Firchlis, the waves of change that are constantly effecting the Dreaming's landscapes and weather. Besides just being paths, trods are the tethers and foundation of the Dreaming, connecting the shattered realms together and protecting the kithain who walk along the Silver Path. Trods are both an entrance into the Dreaming and the road upon with kithain walk while in the Twilight Realms. They are the safest method of travel for Changelings but have their own dangers. Some trods will fade away unless certain conditions are met by travelers. The Dream realms mutate constantly due the nature of dreams themselves. Cities in the Autumn world tend to have distorted reflections in the Near Dreaming. Using cantrips is easier in the Near Dreaming; the glamour spent on them is easy to replenish. Arts and Realms are more powerful, creating "real" effects as is the damage from chimerical weapons and raging chimera. Death in the Near Dreaming equals death of both the terrestrial and chimerical self. Freeholds Most freeholds are linked to the Dreaming by a trod. Powerful freeholds are situated on the cusp of terrestrial and mythic reality, existing in both and create stable points. Both the freeholds and the trods that are connected to them somewhat stabilize the Dreaming in the area around them. Trods often change over time as the land beneath them alters because of Firchlis sweeping through the area. Within a freehold, banality isn't easily gained but its also not lost. Changelings to not gain remembrance the way they do by traveling the Mythic Realm. The stabalizing nature of a freehold protect it from the Firchlis but also prevent the Dreaming's full influence from reaching the kithain within. The most common way to enter the Near Dreaming is through a trod in a freehold. Trods are both an entrance into the Dreaming and the road upon with kithain walk while in the Twilight Realms. They are the safest method of travel for Changelings but have their own dangers. Some trods will fade away unless certain conditions are met by travelers. The Mists The Shattering caused irreparable harm to the Mythic Realms. Immediately after the Shattering, the Dreaming created the Mists as a barrier that shelter the Dreaming from Banality and protect the Mythic Realm from human influence. Kithain who enter the Mythic Realm become more fae and regain a part of themselves that is lost to the Mists while they dwell in the mundane world. The process inverts in the mortal world where the longer kithain remains apart from the influence of Glamour, the more they become mortal. The Mists work in both directions on humans. They pull away their mundane memories and leave them disoriented when they arrive and make them more imaginative, less banal but only temporarily. Chimera sense when a mortal enters the Dreaming, drawn by the raw Dreamstuff the human can generate. Both benevolent and malicious Chimera are particularly drawn to their creator, though for distinctly different reason. Chimera cannot instantly reach thier dreamer, however or have prescience as to where an enchanted person might cross into the Dreaming with their kithain companion. Near Dreaming The Near Dreaming of Cymru reflects the desires and needs of its Dreamers and kithain, especially those of its rulers. Welsh mythology and tradition colors it heavily, especially in places where human culture still celebrates them. * The difficulty of all cantrips are lowered by one, (but never lowered before 4). * All new memories gained while in the Near Dreaming are erased when the character leaves the Dreaming * All things chimerical are considered to be Wyrd while in the Near Dreaming. Any damage inflicted by a cantrip or chimerical creature or item is real. This damage remains once the character leaves the Dreaming. If something with any trace of banality is killed there, the corpse is shunted to the Otherworld as the Dreaming protects itself from the corrosive influence. The Enchanted Non-kithain must be enchanted by Glamour to enter the Dreaming as a physical being, but their enchantment must be replenished with fresh Glamour every day. This can be done either by being granted it by a kithain or consuming "goblin fruits" and other Food of the Dreaming. However, if they eat too much it increased the enchanment and erases their memories causing them to forget who they are, where they are, thier goals and destinations. Kithain, Enchanted prodigals and mortals- anything with the Banal Shiver which is "truly killed" in the Near Dreaming does not leave a corpse or spirit behind. They are shunted into the Otherland. If one of the Enchanted is in the Near Dreaming when their enchantment wears off, there is a risk they will slip back into the terrestrial world. Garou and hedge mages could be sent by the Dreaming to a bordering umbral realm. Vampires and psychics could be sent to the Shadowlands. Following the end of their enchantment, all people (mortal or otherwise) enter a dream-coma that closely resembles vampiric torpor. The length that they will sleep without any natural or supernatural means to awaken them depends upon their banality. Chimerically killed kithain suffer this same type of dream-coma. go to the Main Changeling Page